Mad Hatter
by yellowmoon27
Summary: It's been 4 years since the SPR gang first got together, they are still as strong as ever, but will this new case at an old insane asylum be just the thing to break the team? please R&R I DONT OWN GHOST HUNT!
1. A New Case

**(This story takes place after Mai already found out about Naru's real identity (Oliver Davis) and his brother Gene - Naru already found Gene's body and went back to England but came back two months later and rehired Mai to help him with cases in SPR)**

October 29

SPR

The cool autumn wind blew through the busy streets of Shibuya, making the crowds of people clutch their jackets and coats a little closer to their bodies in order to keep warm. The building on the corner of the street stood tall along with its neighbors as a brunette bundled up in a jacket, scarf, and hat jogged up the stairway to the main door with a brown paper bag in hand.

She opened the door and was met with the comforting warmth of the main office of her workplace. She slowly unraveled her scarf from her neck and hung her jacket up on the coat hanger in the corner, next to two familiar black jackets. After placing the paper bag on her desk, the girl walked over to the small kitchenette, filled the teapot with water, and waited for its whistling signal that it was done.

As she waited she walked back to her desk and opened the bag with a mischievous smile. She started pulling out some of the contents of the bag but stopped when the whistling teapot startled. After fixing the tea, she started down the small hallway and opened her first door on her right.

"Good morning, Lin-san," she greeted happily to the tall man typing away at his desk.

His typing ceased for only a moment as he nodded his head with a small "good morning" of his own and then brought his attention back to his computer once again.

The girl sighed.

'I guess that's all I'll ever get out of him,' she thought to herself and placed a cup of tea down on his desk. She left the man's office and next went to the closed door at the end of the hallway.

Not bothering to knock, she pushed open the door and sighed when she saw the young man.

His head was resting on his fist as he glanced back between his computer screen and the open files and black notebook on his desk.

"Workaholic," the girl muttered, causing the man to roll his eyes and look up at her.

"You're late, Mai," he stated.

"All in good reason, Naru, all in good reason," she smiled to him and walked over to his desk.

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, and raising a perfect jet black eyebrow. "And what, pray tell, is your 'good reason' for being more than thirty minutes late to work?"

Mai only tapped the side of her nose. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Mai," Naru sighed, fixing her with a steady gaze. "Don't tell me you brought holiday decorations again. I told you last time not to."

Mai's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "How'd you know?"

"I know you too well."

The two looked at each other for a moment before, the black haired man reached forward an took the teacup from the girls grasp. Mai's face tinted slightly as his fingers brushed hers for a second and seemed to linger for another before he broke the gaze and looked back at his notebook, taking a sip of the drink.

Mai cleared her throat, noticing she was staring at the black haired narcissist, and hurried out of his office before closing the door. She leaned against the doorframe, lightly holding the hand he had touched just moments ago to her chest. She could swear she could still feel the warmth of his fingers.

She sighed and shook her head. How long had she been working for that narcissist wonder? Four years? And yet she still blushed every time he looked at or touched her...

'Mai, you really have to control your emotions better,' she thought to herself and headed back to her desk, pouting as she looked at the bag of Halloween decorations on her desk and then glancing back to her bosses door. She stuck out her tongue at the man's door.

"I'm still going to put up the decorations even if you don't want me to Naru. Even you'll be impressed once I'm done," she whispered and turned back to the bag with a smile of determination on her face.

...

Two hours later, Oliver looked down at his empty teacup, his mouth suddenly feeling dry.

"Mai. Tea," he called, expecting to hear the girl to mumble angrily about his so called 'tea-addiction.' He was a bit surprised, however, when he received no response. "Mai," he called again...still, nothing.

Rolling his eyes, he stood from his desk, closing all the files that he had finally finished filling out, and he headed out to the main office.

"Ma-" he stopped short when he saw the room.

The colors orange, black, and yellow were everywhere. Fake cobwebs hung from the corners of the room, cardboard ghosts and witches were taped to the walls, fake pumpkins placed on every counter and table, and of course, a large bowl of that god-forsaken candy corn. Oh how he hated that candy.

Looking around the office for his assistant, he found her asleep on one of the large black couches. 'Figures, the sleeping beauty is asleep once again.'

After a hesitated moment, he walked over to her and shook her shoulder. "Mai. Mai, wake up."

The girl's eyes snapped open and she quickly stood up, nearly falling over because her legs were asleep. Naru reached out a hand and ignored her blush as he swiftly grabbed her arm to help her regain her balance.

"First you come in to work late. Then vandalize my office, after I specifically told you not to. Now, you're napping while you still have filing that needs to be done. Really, I should reduce your paycheck for this week," he stated, holding her gaze with his cold blue eyes.

"B-But...I..I.." she started, looking around nervously.

"Mai," he cut her off.

"Yes?" she asked meekly.

"...I'll let you off the hook this time, but next time I won't be so lenient."

A large smile lit up her face. "Thank you, Naru!"

The man felt a slight flutter in his chest as he looked at her but he just brushed it off as annoyance at her lack of listening to him earlier.

"Just take down the decorations."

Mai's face fell instantly and she looked at him with a twitching eyebrow. "But it took me a long time to set everything up."

"Mai, you obviously don't understand how lenient I'm being right now do you? I let you off the hook for being late _and _falling asleep. All I'm asking is you take down these ridiculous decorations," he said levelly.

"Can I at least keep half of them up?" she asked hopefully.

"No."

"But we're ghost hunters! Any person would think that ghost hunters would have a decorated office for Halloween. It's..It's just so obvious!" she defended.

"Mai-"

"-Please," she asked with a small pout.

After a moment, the man sighed and looked away. "Fine, but instead of half you can only keep a quarter of the decorations up. " he stated.

Mai smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Naru."

Suddenly she noticed something. Naru's hand was still on her arm. It had been ever since he helped her regain her balance after waking up.

A faint blush rose to her cheeks once again, and Oliver raised an eyebrow in question. Then it dawned on him, too. He quickly released his hand from her arm as if it were on fire and cleared his throat. He looked down at his other hand which was still holding his empty teacup from earlier and placed the cup in the girls hands before walking back to his office and closing the door.

'How can he act all cool and collected like that while I always wind up blushing like a tomato?' Mai thought embarrassedly to herself and went to the kitchenette to refill his cup.

Before she could get the cup to her bosses office, the front door opened with a jingle from a jack-o-lantern bell she had placed on the doorknob earlier that morning. She turned.

A middle-aged man stood in front of the door and bowed.

"Is this the Shibuya Psychic Research Center?"

* * *

><p><strong>THANKS TO ALL MY READERS (be you new readers or my originals) I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE ALL STICKING WITH ME! I'LL MAKE THIS STORY A SPECIAL GIFT TO ALL OF YOU! LOVE YOU ALL!<strong>

**YELLOWMOON27 **


	2. Arrival

**I promise I'll post a new chapter any time I don't have class or a sorority meeting. I have them all written out. As some of you may know this is the second time im posting this story and i promise you that this time it is finished, im just posting all of the chapters one at a time so new readers can keep up!**

**Enjoy chappie two!**

* * *

><p>October 30<p>

Mito, Ibaraki

Kanto District of Japan

Sure, I had been pretty excited about going to Mito for our case, I always liked going to different places. That was one of the reasons I loved working for SPR. However, I wasn't too excited about the ride situation.

Monk and Ayako couldn't make it for another day, and since the location of our new case was over two hours away Naru and Lin felt it necessary to bring _all_ of the equipment 'just incase.' And because of this _situation_, the situation being that the equipment took of pretty much every nook and cranny of the van, Lin, Naru and I were crammed in the front seat. 'Crammed' of course meaning there were only two and a half seats available for the three of us so I had to half sit on the seat and half sit on Naru's lap...If looks could kill - scratch that - if looks could kill _inanimate objects_, the stupid equipment would have been dead and gone between the glares Naru and I were shooting it. Lin, however, seemed to be getting quite the kick out of our little situation and I swore he was hitting every bump in the road on purpose, for every time he'd hit a bump I'd fall into Naru's chest and start muttering incoherently in embarrassment. Naru would just roll his eyes at me every time I'd mutter and thus I'd get even more embarrassed and mutter _even more. _But.._._I could swear I saw a strange look in Naru's eyes once when we caught each others gazes after Lin (purposely) hit a pretty large bump in the pavement and I had to clutch on to his arm so I wouldn't fall off the seat. I really wished that the van had a working seat belt in the middle seat; if only that idiot monk hadn't broken it on our last case then I might not be having as much trouble staying in my seat.

Damn! Lin was _definitely _hitting those bumps on purpose.

Finally we reached the address of the location. We had to take a long dirt road into the woods, and, as if that weren't creepy enough, we came into view of the old, brick, three story high abandoned mental asylum. There was a rusting black iron fence which must have been at least ten feet tall. The tips of the iron rods were sharp points, intimidating anyone on the outside to stay out and anyone on the inside to stay in or else. I looked nervously at the gate and building as we drove closer. I felt confused, I felt dizzy. This place didn't set well with me, and Naru seemed to notice this.

When we finally came to a stop and unloaded from the van he turned to me as Lin went to the back of the van to start getting the equipment out and into the asylum.

"Mai, do you feel something?" Naru asked, staring me square in the eyes.

The deep blue of his eyes helped ease my feeling of unease. I unconsciously grabbed at my elbow, a comforting action which also helped ease myself. I shook my head slowly, trying to shake the remainder of this feeling away, "I just have a strange feeling. I'm...I'm actually feeling..I can't explain..."

Naru looked at me for a moment longer and did something that surprised me.

His eyes softened just barely and his hand came up to land on the top of my head. "Let me know if you feel anything else," he said in a gentle tone.

"Naru..." I stared up at him, a small smile tugged at my lips in thanks.

We heard Lin's footsteps coming from around the van and I saw Naru's eyes return back to normal. His mask was back in place.

"Mai, help Lin with the equipment. Don't drop anything, we all know how clumsy of an idiot you can be."

My smile quickly turned into a frown and my hands curled into fists. "Naru, why you..." I shook my fist at him as he walked over to the main entrance to the run down asylum, swiftly ignoring me. I huffed in annoyance, my aggression was futile against this idiot scientist.

I made my way over to the back of the van, and looked up at the asylum to take in the view.

...

_**FLASHBACK**_

"_Is this the Shibuya Psychic Research Center?" a man who looked to be no older than fifty-five stood at the doorway. _

_I smiled in greeting. "Yes it is, my name is Taniyama Mai, may I help you with anything?"_

_The man's eyes crinkled slightly with age as he smiled back. He nodded. "My name is Kinowara Shinji. I was told there was a man by the name of Kazuya Shibuya here that could help me. You see, my uncle just passed away and in his will I was left with an old family building. A mental asylum to be exact."_

_My eyes widened. "A mental asylum?" I whispered. Man those things creep me out._

"_And what, Kinowara-san, do you think we can help you with?" a cool voice sounded behind me, which made me jump._

"_N-Naru," I sighed, "Sheesh, you scared me half to death."_

"_It's not my fault you're oblivious to everything around you," he stated cooly and turned back to our new potential client._

"_Jerk," I growled._

_Kinowara-san chuckled lightly at my boss and I. _

"_What's so funny?" Naru inquired with a quirked eyebrow._

"_Nothing," the man waved a hand softly, "It's just that the two of you remind me of my daughter and her husband."_

_I blushed at the thought of Naru as my husband, and blushed even more when I realized that I actually liked the idea._

_Naru cleared his throat and closed his eyes briefly. "Kinowara-san, I ask again, what can we help you with?"_

_The man in question only stared at the younger man. "Are you Kazuya Shibuya?"_

"_Yes."_

"_How old are you exactly?"_

'_Uh-oh. That question always annoys the hell out of Naru,' I thought to myself._

_I saw Naru try to restrain from twitching an eyebrow, though he wasn't able to stop his jaw from clenching. "Why do you wish to know?" he asked in a tone which was tinged with a slight hint of irritation._

_The older man only shrugged nonchalantly. "Just curious. You look to be quite young."_

_Naru's eyes narrowed. "I'm twenty-one, now Sir, please answer my previous question."_

_Kinowara-san smiled brightly, "Right, right, sorry I got distracted. Anyway, I need your help at the asylum I recently inherited. It's abandoned but I still-"_

"_If It's abandoned than why do you wish us to come investigate? If no one is in dangers way than I see no point in going," Naru said flatly, as if the whole thing was a waste of time for him._

"_Naru!" I squeaked. Quickly I turned to Kinowara-san who was looking at Naru with narrowed eyes. "I'm so sorry Sir! My boss doesn't have the best of manners." Naru glared at me, and I only rolled my eyes, "Well you don't Naru, so don't get all pissy. Anyway Kinowara-san, would you mind telling us about why you want us there?" I asked politely._

_The man looked at me with a smile, or was that a smirk? _

"_Well I was planning on tearing down the building and building a home there for my daughter as a little gift, you see? I've heard that renovations can agitate spirits and they already seem pretty bad as it is, so I'd like for you to find them and exorcise them so when the house is built then there won't be anything that may happen to my daughter and her husband."_

_I nodded, taking in all of the information. "What's happened there so far? Do you know?"_

_I could see Naru looking at me thoughtfully in the corner of my eye...what's he thinking?_

_Kinowara-san put a finger to his chin in thought. "Well, there have been rattling noises, sounds of people screaming, things like that. There have also been things like the power going out when the weather is perfectly fine, and when the power returns there is writing on the walls. Here are some photos actually," he stated and handed me a small file containing a few pictures. _

_I looked at the photos. There was writing on walls with chipping paint. The writing appeared to be written in...in blood... 'Help Me'...'I just want to go home'..._

_The phrases were small and typical, but they still pushed me to want to help these spirits. I kept flipping through the pictures as Naru stood over my shoulder, taking the pictures I had already seen and studied them himself. _

_Naru took the remainder of the pictures from my grasp and I looked up at him determined. The case didn't look to be too hard, and anyway, we needed to take this for these poor spirits, I knew I could help them._

_Naru stared back at me with raised eyebrows, seemingly knowing what I was thinking. With a long sigh he slowly turned to the older man who was waiting patiently. "Alright. I suppose I have no choice but to take this case."_

_My face lit up and Naru rolled his eyes. Man, he was such a push over when it came to me._


	3. All Three Hundred and NinetyNine Rooms

**ENJOY!**

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><p>October 30<p>

Kinowara Asylum

10:30 AM

Kinowara-san was waiting for us inside the main entrance. He showed us the way to the room that would serve as our temporary base. The hallways had an eerie look to them, there was chipping paint, water stains, and for some reason it gave me an almost claustrophobic feeling. The doors we passed in the hallway were all closed save for one which was open just a little. I slowed my pace behind Naru and the others, readjusting the large monitor in my arms, and looked at the number on the door.

"Room 227..." I whispered.

Suddenly a sharp pain shot through my skull and I nearly dropped the monitor but I regained my grasp on it just in time. Phew, Naru would have thrown a hissy fit if I were to have dropped it. I looked over to where they had been just seconds ago...where were they?

I quickly jogged in the direction they had been heading, forgetting all about the door I had been investigating, but still I couldn't catch sight of them.

Five more minutes of navigating myself through the hallways I finally found the others.

"Taniyama-san," Lin said when he saw me, causing Naru and Kinowara-san to turn around and look at me.

"Mai, where were you?" Naru asked with a hint of annoyance.

My eyebrow twitched. He hadn't even been worried for me? Sheesh, what a jerk. "I got lost!"

Naru rolled his eyes. "Idiot," he said and started walking into the room I assumed was our base.

Why that...arrrg! I lifted the monitor in my hand into a more comfortable position and pushed my way past Lin into the base, following after my boss. "Hey! It's not my fault this place is like a giant maze! And the least you could have done was take this stupid monitor from me once you saw me struggling with it in the hallway! That's no way to treat a woman!" I defended.

Naru paused and looked back at me, causing me to almost crash into him. "I agree; that _is_ no way to treat a woman." I smiled triumphantly before he continued, "However, I don't see any women around here. All I see here are three men and a baby," He waved a hand toward Lin, Kinowara-san, and himself, and then he his hand pointed to me.

I heard Lin try to keep from laughing and I shot him the most deadly glare I could muster, causing him to stop abruptly.

"Naru you-" I stopped what was going to be a threatening statement when I notice the monitor was being lifted out of my aching arms. "Naru..."

He placed the monitor on a nearby table and looked back at me with a raise eyebrow. "You're welcome," he said amusedly.

"Oh, uh thank you," I said, still shocked.

"Now," Naru began, "Go bring in the rest of the equipment by yourself, Lin you stay here."

Huh? My hands clenched into fists of rage and I was about to pounce but two strong arms lifted me up and brought me out into the hallway before I could hit him. I looked up and saw Lin-san looking down at me.

"I'm sorry Taniyama-san, but I think it would just be better if you did what he said. We don't want the client to think we are a group of animals," he explained calmly.

I sighed and looked to the side. "Fine...I guess I'll just knock some sense into him some other time then."

Lin smiled gently and made his way back into the base. I sighed once more and started on my trek out to the van. It was going to take a long time to get all this equipment to the base. And _of course_ the base just had to be on the second floor and there were no elevators. _Great_...

* * *

><p>One hour later, 11:40 AM, there was only a quarter of the equipment left. I staggered into the base, sweating and panting, with a large computer in my arms.<p>

"Naru, I can't...go on...any more," I panted in between breaths.

Naru smirked and nodded towards Lin who took the computer from me and set it down effortlessly onto the desk.

"Lin you can finish bringing in the equipment, Mai you can stay here."

I smiled in relief and flopped down on the couch in the corner of the room. It was then that I noticed Kinowara-san was nowhere in sight. I looked over to Naru for an explanation.

"He left for a while, he'll be back later. We have gotten some more information on the case and I've called Yasuhara to come and help us with the background information on this building. Ayako and Bou-san have called me and they're on there way," the blue eyed man stated calmly.

"Ayako and Bou-san are coming today? I thought they were coming tomorrow," I said.

"Bou-san's concert was canceled and Ayako was able to get someone to cover her shift at the hospital so they decided to come today."

"Oh, well that's good," I smiled. I was excited they were coming. It would have been a little creepy staying in a place like this with these two vampires (aka Naru and Lin). "So are Masako and John not coming?"

"I have no need for them at this time."

I cocked my head to the side. "But Masako could be helpful with finding spirits."

Naru looked me in the eyes. "She's not needed."

I stared back.

"Mai," Naru sighed, "I've actually been wanting to talk to you about something."

'Uh-oh what did I do?' I thought.

"I've been noticing this past year that you have been improving your skills as a medium. I'm sure that in time you will become a great medium, I feel that doing cases with you being the only medium around might help hone your skills a bit more. I've also noticed that you have been showing great promise in your job, like you did yesterday when Kinowara-san first arrived. Because of this, I've decided to make you a full-time investigator starting now."

My mouth hung open in shock.

"Shut your mouth, you look like a fish," he smirked.

I quickly snapped my mouth shut and a smile illuminated my face. A full-time investigator? I'm no longer just an assistant but an investigator!

Without thinking I jumped on Naru and hugged him as tight as possible. "Thank you!"

There was the lightest touch of his hand resting on my waist for a moment and then it finally dawned on me what I had done. Quickly, I detached myself from the dark haired man and smiled embarrassedly up at him. He shook his head at me.

"Of course, you know, you'll still have to make me my tea," Naru added, amusement lighting up his blue eyes.

I laughed, "I know, Naru, I know."

Some one cleared their throat and Naru and I looked over to see Lin enter the room with the last of the equipment in hand. I hurried over and helped with some of the cameras, gaining a grateful look from the tall Chinese man. I smiled back.

"Ayako and Bou-san have arr-" the man started but was interrupted but a familiar voice.

"Mai-chan!" Bou-san yelled happily and scooped me up into a bear hug.

"Bou-san...can't...breath!" I gasped.

"Let go of her you pervert," Ayako scolded and hit him in the head with her purse, causing the man to let me go. "How are you Mai? Big bad Naru hasn't driven you crazy yet has he?"

Naru rolled his eyes and started helping Lin hook up all the wires and monitors.

I laughed and shook my head. "No, _but_ he did make me a full-time investigator!" I exclaimed.

The monk and priestess congratulated me before Naru turned around and handed me a thermometer. "Mai, you and the two idiots go collect temperatures of all the rooms."

Ayako and Bou-san grumbled after the insult but my eyes widened when I heard the last part. "_All_ of the rooms?"

"Yes, _all_ of the rooms," He smirked.

"But there has got to be at least three-hundred rooms!" I exclaimed.

"Three-hundred and ninety-nine to be exact."

"That annoys me," Ayako stated, causing us all to turn to her. "Why three-hundred ninety-nine? Why not four-hundred or any other even number. I mean, three-hundred ninety-nine is made up of _all_ odd numbers. Man, that's annoying," she grumbled.

"OCD much?" Bou-san teased.

I laughed and shook my head as Ayako kept talking about the room count and Bou-san and I led her out of the room.

We first went down to the first floor and to the main entrance so we could work our way up.

As we checked the temperatures of all the rooms the three of us talked about all that was going on in our lives.

"So Mai, you still aren't going to go to a university?" Ayako asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. I have the job I want right now. I don't think I could see myself doing anything but this actually. The thrill of the case, and the satisfaction I get when a case is solved...it's romantic in a way. And anyway, I could never be one of those girls who works in a little cubicle at a job or have to dress up every day. I love working for SPR. You guys are like a family to me, a university would just take me away from you guys. So get ready because I'm here to stay," I smiled happily.

The other two smiled back and Bou-san put an arm around my shoulders. "So that means I'd be like your big brother and Ayako would be like...your soon-to-be sister-in-law, right?" he asked with a giant grin.

Huh?

I looked at him in shock and he nodded. My head snapped over to Ayako who was having trouble keeping from smiling and I grabbed her left hand, looking at her ring finger.

It was a small diamond ring so it hadn't caught my attention, but it was just the right size.

I smiled up to her. "When?"

"He asked me last night," she laughed at my expression.

"Now, now, enough with this, we'll celebrate later," Bou-san began, "Right now we have to get these temperatures before it gets too dark. I'll bet anything that once we get back to the room Naru's going to have us set up the cameras too."

* * *

><p>I sighed. Bou-san was so true. The second we arrived back at the base, Naru had handed me a pile of cameras and wires.<p>

"Here is a list of rooms in which a camera should go. Oh, and when you're done make me some tea," he said swiftly whilst looking at a file in his hand.

Before I could make a move, Ayako grabbed me by the arm and tugged me out of the room as Bou-san took most of the equipment from my arms.

I regained my composure once we were some distance from the room containing that stupid narcissist and then I huffed. "Really, I don't get why you wouldn't let me smack him," I muttered to the two beside me.

They looked at me and shook their heads. "Mai," Bou-san started, "If we let you smack him upside the head every time he annoyed you, he'd be brain-dead by now and you'd be out of a job. Now, would you want that?"

"Well...No," I pouted.

"Good! And anyway, I thought you'd be happy!"

I looked at him skeptically. "Happy about what?"

Bou-san grinned and winked at me. "Well, it was my understanding that when a man acted like that to a girl then it meant he liked her."

My cheeks flamed bright red and I stuttered, "T-That can't be possible! N-Naru's just being Naru!"

The monk shrugged and looked up at his fiancee. "Well that's how I always acted to Ayako, remember? And now look at us! We're engaged!" he cried happily, looking down at me.

I sighed. "Well I don't think it's good at all. Naru and I, I mean. The way I see it, if your statement is true, then if Naru really starts to like me then I'm going to be in a lot of danger! I can hardly handle him as it is! How would I handle him if he l-loved me?" I stumbled on the word 'love' and turned even more red.

"Love conquers all, my dear Mai-chan. Love conquers all," Ayako laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, squeezing me tightly.

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><p><strong>THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE! Please review if you have time.<strong>

**Love you all!  
>- Yellowmoon27<strong>


	4. Attack

October 30

Kinowara Asylum

4:30

The sky was already dark outside due to the cloudy skies and that night came earlier than it did in the summer.

"Naru," I sighed, flopping into the chair next to him.

It was just the two of us in the room. Ayako and Bou-san went investigating under Naru's orders and Lin left to fix a camera which had a faulty wire.

"Mai," Naru replied, not taking his eyes from the monitors.

"What'cha doing?"

"Working, like you should be."

I rolled my eyes and pulled my chair closer to his. "I _know_ you're working. You're a workaholic, it would be going against nature if you _weren't _working," I teased, earning a half-hearted glare from the blue eyed man.

"Well at least I choose to be productive with my life instead of _someone_ I know who spends her life sleeping," he smirked and turned his attention back to the monitors in front of him.

"Hey, at least my dreams help us on cases. Plus, I know _you_ know I'm a big help to SPR," I grinned and yawned. Talking about sleep was making me tired.

"Saying that you're a 'big help' may be stretching it a bit far, Mai."

I glared at the side of his head, sticking up my nose at him when I saw him looking at me from the corners of his eyes.

"Jerk."

I peeked over at him seeing a small smile playing on his lips. My eyes softened and ever so slowly I rested my head on his shoulder. I could feel him stiffen for a second but after a moment he relaxed. I smiled happily to myself. I was the only person, to my knowledge, who Naru would let do this to him. Lin had told me Naru even got annoyed when his mother would hug him or anything of the sort. This fact actually increased my belief that the Narcissist may in fact return my feelings. Thinking about it, Naru had actually been a lot nicer, and dare I say sweeter, to me these past two years. Wow, he really had...why was I noticing just then? Why hadn't I noticed earlier?

'Hmm,' I thought, 'Naru looks a little tired...maybe I can do something for him...'

"Naru..." I started.

He turned his head slightly to look at me. "Yes, Mai?"

Surprisingly I wasn't blushing after seeing the soft look in his eyes. I smiled softly.

"Do you want some more tea?" I asked him, keeping my head on his shoulder while looking into his eyes.

There was a slight pause.

"...Yes...please," The last word was nearly inaudible, but since I was so close to him, I had heard.

I slowly pulled myself away from the dark haired man, this time I had a faint blush on my cheeks, and I stood. I walked over to my bag and pulled out a teapot, one of the mugs I had packed, and a box of Naru's favorite tea.

"I'll be right back," I murmured and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me.

When I rounded the corner I couldn't hold it in any more. I squealed happily, jumping up and down like a schoolgirl in love, hugging the objects in my arms tightly to my chest. Half spinning and half skipping down the hall, I navigated my way through the maze of a hallway until finally coming to a small room I remember Kinowara-san had told us used to be a kitchenette-like area the staff of the asylum used to use.

I switched on the light. It flickered for a minute until finally illuminating the small room. There was a small counter and there was an old looking fridge and stove. I walked over to the counter and turned the faucet of the sink. It spurted momentarily and then a steady stream came flowing out. I filled the teapot with water and lit the stove, setting it to a medium temperature. My swooning started to slowly deflate. I had a strange feeling in the back of my head...and then I heard it.

There was the sound of a man's hysterical laughing. I spun around. Where was it coming from?

The laughter stopped abruptly and I nearly jumped a foot in the air when the whistle of the teapot went off. Frightened, I quickly filled the mug and prepared the tea at record time. I left the tea bags and teapot on the counter and scurried down the hall in the direction of the base. The strange feeling in the back of my head started growing stronger and stronger.

I was scared. What was wrong with me? What was this feeling.

_No..._

I nearly tripped on a crack in the floor and steadied myself just in time. Then I froze.

A cool breeze blew at me from my left, causing shivers to run up and down my spine. I couldn't help it...I had to look...It was almost as if I didn't have control of my own body.

_No..._

My eyes widened and I felt a nauseous feeling crawling its way up my throat.

There was a woman with dark, greasy, knotted hair staring at me with blank eyes. She wore a straightjacket, her arms wrapped around her body.

_No..._

A scary smile slowly split across her pale sickly face.

_I'm not crazy..._

I couldn't move. She slowly started creeping towards me. It was her voice I was hearing. I _knew_ it was...but her mouth wasn't moving.

I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out. The mug in my hand slipped from my immobile fingers and shattered on the ground, the scorching liquid burning my legs but I didn't notice.

_I'm __**not**__ crazy..._

I shut my eyes, hoping when I opened them, the woman would be gone. But oh how wrong I was. They were only closed for a mere second but once they had opened, the woman was mere inches from my face, with fiery eyes, twitching and trying to pull out of her jacket. The straps of her jacket finally snapped and her hands wasted no time as they flung up to my face, clawing, scratching.

Finally I was able to scream. I felt the pain of the liquid that had earlier scorched my legs. I felt the pain of the woman's long nails clawing at my face. I felt the pain of her mind invading mine. What was this feeling? I was going crazy...literally! I was going crazy...

"NO!" I screamed, holding up my hands weakly. I saw the woman's eyes spark with pain and understanding momentarily before she suddenly disappeared. The painful crazy feeling in my head disappeared but the pain of my body remained.

I was weak. I couldn't keep my eyes open any more. I...I...

My legs gave way and I hit the floor. Sharp cutting pains stabbed through my thighs and stomach before my head hit the ground with a sickening thud and everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's so short but if it were any longer the drama wouldn't be as strong I think...<strong>

**Review if you want to...**

**Love you all!**


	5. Fallen Tea Cup

October 30

Kinowara Asylum

Around 5:00 PM

"_Oh my pretty little puppet,_

_You're life, oh I may just pluck it!"_

_A man's sickeningly horrifyingly voice sang around me before it broke off into a malicious laugh. I spun around in a circle, hoping to see something but everything was pitch black; so black I wasn't sure if my eyes were open or closed._

'_Who? Who are you?'_

_I wanted to speak but my mouth wouldn't open. _

_The darkness felt diseased. As if it could infect my soul if I stayed there too long._

_Suddenly an outline of the hallway had started to appear before me. The only difference was that there were no signs of erosion on these walls. Everything was clean; pure white...too white..._

_A door and a small sign were blurring into my sight. _

'_Room 227'..._

_That room. It was the room I first noticed on my way up to the base earlier that morning; the one at which I-_

"_Noooo!" _

_A woman's ear-shattering screech echoed through the ghostly hallway. My impossibly-wide eyes stayed glued to the door..._

'_I don't want to be here,' I thought, an overwhelming intuition to run took over me. 'No...I need to get out of this place...'_

_The door was opening and I couldn't move. I was glued to the floor on which I stood. _

"_I'm not crazy!" another shriek attacked my ears. _

_I didn't notice the tears rolling down my cheeks. 'Move. Move!' I pleaded to my refusing legs. 'MOVE!' I hadn't averted my eyes still..it was impossible for me to do so, no matter how much I had wished that I could._

_Crash!_

_The door slammed open. The brightest of lights filled my vision, causing me to wince and squint at the sudden change. I looked closely and was just barely able to make out the shape of a tall silhouette. _

_Slowly, ever so slowly, the figure turned to me. I could see no features, only a thick black cloudy shape. A ghostly arm lifted and pointed towards me. Then another silhouette appeared, this one looked like a woman._

"_You. Are you crazy yet?" I heard a voice as it sang sadistically in my head. It wasn't the voice of the singing man that I had heard earlier...it was the voice of that woman who attacked me, the one who had just been screaming. I knew it was her._

_I froze in confusion when my attention was drawn elsewhere. My eyebrows furrowed._

_W-What? _

_My stomach...it was wet..._

_I looked down and noticed a dark stain growing larger and larger on my blouse. I lifted a shaking hand, touching the stain curiously._

_I gasped. _

_Suddenly It hit me..._

_Pain.._

_The pain was overbearing so much so that it made me lightheaded...I could feel something wet dripping down my forehead as well. Oh yeah..._

_I laughed pitifully while looking at the burgundy rust-smelling liquid on my hand. _

"_That's right...I remember now...I remember what happened before this dream," I laughed again, brokenly as the memories of the ghost came flooding back. The pain of my abdomen and head caused for more tears to streak down my blood-covered face and my smile quivered. _

_My eyelids felt heavy. I couldn't hold them open anymore. Sleep sounded oh so good right about then. While I closed my eyes, one final word slipped from my paling lips._

"_Naru..."_

_My legs gave way and I fell into a bottomless emptiness in my dream, almost as if in slow-motion. _

* * *

><p>I sat in my chair with a small smile pulling at my lips. I shook my head, "Mai," I whispered to myself while closing my eyes. "You never cease to surprise me..."<p>

I had to admit, I never truly thought Mai would make me tea on her own free will. My lips pulled up slightly at the corners once more before I opened my eyes. There was something about her tea which calmed every inch of me. There were only a few more moments before I could relish that sweet liquid once more.

I sighed softly and looked down at one of the papers in front of me before my watch caught my attention. My eyebrows knitted together slowly.

'Hmm, she's been gone for quite a while...where is sh-' My words caught in my throat as I looked up at one of the monitors. There she was...with a spirit of a woman. My chest clenched after the ghost faded away and Mai's severely beaten body slowly fell to the ground. The echoing sound of her head hitting the floor snapped me back to reality.

"_Mai!_"

I ran from the room, sprinting down the hallway as fast as my legs could carry me.

"_Naru..."_ I heard that familiar voice whisper in my head.

"Mai!" I yelled for her again and ran even faster.

I rounded the corner and nearly fell to my knees from the shock. There was so much blood. Too much blood.

I forced myself to run to her body speedily slid into a kneeling position down next to her prone body. She wasn't moving. There was a puddle underneath her body that was a mix between tea and blood...her blood.

I gently reached out to her and cautiously rolled her from her stomach onto her back. She had fallen onto shards from the broken teacup which had in turn embedded themselves within her torso. Her face was covered with scratches which seemed to have been made by vicious nails, and there was a large tide of blood dripping down her forehead.

'_Who would dare to do that to my assistant?_' I growled threateningly in my head.

Trying to remain in control, I quickly shook my head and checked her pulse.

It was so faint...it was barely even there.

My emotionless mask was broken as worry and despair carved themselves onto my face.

"Mai..." I whispered, wiping some of the blood that had dripped down the side of her face from the gash on her skull. "Wake up."

She didn't move.

"Wake up, Mai," I said with as much authority as I could muster.

Still, she did not move. My eyes grew hard with anger.

"Mai! That's an order. _Wake up._" I commanded.

Nothing...

No..._no...she can't..._

My eyes softened, they only ever softened for this girl. I caressed my hand against her less-abused cheek.

"Please...,_" _I whispered into her bloodstained ear. Her blood covered my hands and there was a small coating on the side of my face which rubbed up against hers. I placed a hand over her chest. I wished it would work; I tried giving her some of my power; just enough to get her heart going stronger again.

After the pulse of my power left my hand and into her chest, I shut my eyes tightly, praying it would work.

I could feel her twitch underneath my hand.

"N-Naru?" A barely audible whimper caused my eyes to snap open. I straightened up and without even wasting a second I looked into her chestnut brown eyes with relief.

"Yes, I'm here, Mai," I said reassuringly and brought myself closer to her, wiping away more of the blood which was marring her face.

She whimpered as I touched her numerous wounds.

I looked down to Mai's stomach, wincing internally. There was so much glass...I couldn't pull it out either because the shards were keeping her from bleeding to death. I wanted to ease her pain so I opted for slowly running my hand through her hair, whispering that everything would be alright. I didn't want to loose her...she was my friend...and something more..

I heard the sound of loud footsteps coming from the end of the hallway. The others were on their way. Lin always seemed to know when something was happening to Mai or myself. I closed my eyes, regaining my composure and then looked up at Lin when he slid around the corner into view with Takigawa and Ayako close behind.

"Lin! Call for an ambulance immediately," I barked out an order to the older man.

"I'm on it," he stated quickly while he pulled out his cellphone.

"Mai!" Ayako sobbed and fell to the floor.

Takigawa's eyes never left Mai's prone body even as his legs gave way and he crashed to the floor in disbelief. Hearing his fiancee's sob, the man finally looked away and pulled her to him tightly, cradling her head into his chest while running a shaky hand through her hair.

I broke my gaze from the tearstained couple and turned back to Mai.

I noticed that she had tears streaming from her somewhat distant eyes. If I didn't have hope that I would save her in time I think, just possibly, I would be crying as well right now.

"Mai," I said, trying to gat her attention. Being careful of her wounds, I pulled her to me, wiping her tears. "Stay with me, okay? The ambulance is on it's way," I assured her.

She took in a shaky breath and looked up at me. "I-I'll try, Naru," she said with difficulty.

"You had better. I don't want to have to hire a new assistant," I smirked.

"Y-You just don't want to not be able to h-have my tea, you tea-addict," she teased.

A broken laugh nearly escaped my lips but I stopped it and went along with her anyway, "It would be troublesome to teach a new assistant how to make tea correctly."

I was expecting a huff of annoyance from the girl but instead...I felt her body stiffen.

"Mai?" I looked down at her, both scared of what was happening and upset the ambulance wasn't here yet.

Her eyes were wide and staring past me up at the ceiling.

I looked. No one was there. I quickly looked backdown at Mai.

She looked frightened. What was she seeing?

"Mai. Mai, what is it?" I asked I prodded.

Her body started to shake again. "N-No...The ghost. She's going to...going to..." She didn't get to finish but instead cut herself off with a sharp gasp.

Her eyes went blank before they fluttered closed.

"Mai!" I shook her body. She stopped breathing.

"Naru!" Lin's voice called to me. I looked desperately up at him. "The ambulance was nearby, it's outside already."

"What just happened to her?" I asked him in panic.

"The ghost must have done something to her. Hurry up, we need to get her to the hospital quickly," the Chinese man stated and took Mai from my grasp, hurrying down the hallway towards the exit. I snapped out of it and ran after him, seeing the ambulance as I stepped outside. They took Mai from Lin and put her in the back of the vehicle. Without saying anything, I jumped up into the back, leaving no chance for any of the others to come. The paramedics closed the doors as they sped away, trying to save the girl who laid before me.

I held her hand tightly, "You better make it Mai..."

* * *

><p><strong>Did you like it? Are you confused? Haha If you are don't worry, I tried to make it confusing, like a mind-f**k. Everything will be answered in due time.<br>**

**(Remember to check out that soap opera if you're interested, it's soooo worth it in my opinion.) - AT LEAST CHECK OUT THAT SONG! I LOVE IT! I've had it on repeat for hours and it hasn't gotten old yet!**

**Review if you want :D **


	6. Almost

**Hi guys.**

**I hope none of you think im copying anyones idea. i had written this story about a year ago which i know a couple of you remember because ive gotten comments on how happy you are that im continuing this story. I never finished the story the last time i posted it a year ago and so i decided id repost it now so people can start reading from the beginning. im going to finish it this time and i have all of the chapters all done. **

**it actually really hurts and to be honest it upsets me to know that some of you think i would steal ideas. all of my stories are COMPLETELY from my own mind and completely original.**

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><p>October 30<p>

7:00 PM

Inside The Ambulance

It was the second time in my life I ever felt so useless...

_Beeeeeeeeee-_

I rode in the ambulance with her, holding her hand all the way to the hospital. That was all I could do for her; hold her hand and whisper her name.

_-eeeeeeeeee-_

The doctors tried to stop the bleeding as fast as they could but it seemed near impossible to do.

_-eeeeeeeeee-_

Who knew such a small tea cup could cause so much blood?

_-eeeeeeeeee-_

They tried the defibrillator for the second time.

-..._eeeeeeee-_

The heart monitor remained the same.

-_eeeeeeeeee-_

I sighed in defeat and closed my eyes.

-_eeeee...beeeep...beeep...beeeep-_

My eyes snapped open.

-_beeep...beep...beep...beep-_

Her heart...it was beating again...

Realization hit me like a bullet and I couldn't help the broken laugh or relief as I held her hand tighter. The EMT's were looking at each other in amazement.

"What the..?" one of them whispered.

We finally pulled into the hospital's lot and she was rushed into the ER. I ran with them, holding her hand until we ran through the waiting room. My hand felt cold as her hand slipped from mine when the doctors kept rolling her away.

In the back of my mind I heard the doors to the ER slam open and the voices of the SPR team reached my ears.

She was safe.

After closing my eyes for a brief second I turned to see them. She was fine. There was no need to show them I was worried.

* * *

><p>November 1<p>

11:00 AM

"Jerk! I feel fine, let me go back!"

I sighed. "Mai, you've only been in the hospital for two days, actually not even two days. There's no way your wounds have healed that fast. Now stop moving, you idiot, or you'll rip your stitches."

The door opened and Lin walked in, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the two of us. Mai was tangling herself up in her hospital blanket, one of her arms flailing around trying to smack me as the other one was attempting to untangle the sheets.

I rolled my eyes and looked up at Lin. Following his gaze I noticed her gown had hitched up around her waist. Quickly I reached out and pulled the blanket over her body, glaring back at the older man who only chuckled slightly at my reaction.

Mai's face grew bright red after finally realizing what I had done and _why_ I had done it.

She muttered a quick 'thank you' before trying to sit up again. I sighed, closing my eyes.

"Mai, I'm not letting you leave," I stated matter-of-factly.

Lin walked over to me and handed me a folder before leaving.

I held Mai down with one hand as I looked through a file with my other. After a minute or two she finally realized I wouldn't let her go and gave up, huffing as her head hit the pillow.

She reached over and pulled on my sleeve, gaining my attention. "Naru, I want to help. Please. I have a weird feeling about the case; like I _need _to be there in order for the ghost to show me something."

That look in her eye took me by surprise but nevertheless I shook my head. "No, Mai. You need to rest."

"But-"

"Mai," I said sternly, cutting her off. She looked up at me with those large brown eyes of hers and I leaned closer to her, raising my hand to brush away a stray strand of hair which had fallen across her forehead. "You nearly died the other day. Can you blame me for not wanting you to go back there right away? For Christ's sake, your stomach was torn to pieces. We're lucky that you're still alive...SPR wouldn't be the same without you."

She was quiet for a second, staring right back at me then she laughed. "Oh Naru, I know you; you're just happy you don't have to find a new assistant and teach her how to make your tea the way you like it."

"No."

Her laughter stopped and her eyes softened.

"You have no idea how worried I was that you wouldn't make it."

Sighing, I slowly rested my forehead against hers and she closed her eyes. Feeling brave, more-so than usual, I slowly inched my lips closer to hers. Our noses touched and I could feel her nervous breath against my face. Only mere millimeters apart...and then...

I stopped.

Her eyes snapped open when she felt me pull away. "W-What are you-"

I smirked and casually shrugged my shoulders. "I decided against it for now."

Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "What?" she growled.

"Maybe some other time, Mai," I stated and stood from my chair, brushing my pants free of any creases as if nothing happened.

"N-Naru!" she stammered, cheeks turning red from irritation.

I turned and walked to the slightly opened door.

"NARU! Get back here and kiss me!" she screamed.

My smirk grew and I opened the door, revealing a wide eyed miko and monk.

I heard Mai gasp once she noticed the two were right outside the door. I only nodded my head in greeting as I passed my two co-workers and kept going.

"Mai, who knew you were such a feisty thing?" I heard Bou-san tease.

"Oh shut up!"

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><p><strong>Thank you everyone who's reading my story, Love you all!<strong>


	7. Mistaken

**Here's the next chapter! **

* * *

><p>November 1<p>

4:00 PM

"_You've solved the case?"_

Quickly I pulled the phone away from my ear as Mai screamed on the other end. After she stopped I placed the receiver back. "First off; stop yelling, you idiot. Secondly, yes, I solved the case. I _finally_ just got in touch with Yasuhara. He's been out of touch since the beginning of the case. However, he had some good information. The ghost which attacked you was a woman, Wantabe Yuuki, that died in room 227 many years ago. Apparently, she was one of the more mentally imbalanced people in the building. One day she broke through her straight jacket and killed herself. Her spirit, being in such an imbalanced state, must be lingering here. I've called John in to exorcise the thing. We'll be packed up and gone by tonight. I'll come and retrieve you from the hospital once we're done, so be ready."

I heard her make a thoughtful noise on the other end. _"But Naru, I think you're missing someth- wait a second - ...'Retrieve?' What the? I'm not a dog you stupid narcissist! I swear, once my wounds are healed enough I'm gonna whomp you on the side of your head so hard that you'll-"_

"-Goodbye Mai," I said calmly and snapped my mobile closed with a sigh, cutting her off from her rant.

I looked up to see Lin, John, and the terrible duo staring at me with raised eyebrows.

"Way to go Naru-bou," the monk whistled amusedly. "You always make her angry one way or another."

I shot him a glare and turned to John. "Get ready. I want to get this case over with."

* * *

><p>I had a slight feeling in the back of my mind that Naru was mistaken with his assumption about the ghost. I felt there was a crucial fact that was right under our noses yet we were blind to it.<p>

I needed to stop them from doing the exorcism. There was something bigger going on than that ghost which had attacked me. She was a key part to it but...there was something else.

I reopened my mobile and speed dialed Naru's number. It rang a few times before going to voicemail. My eyes narrowed suspiciously and I tried calling again. It went to voicemail again and I growled to myself.

_That jerk. He's ignoring me! _

The phone beeped and I took in a long breath to calm myself briefly. "Naru. Stop ignoring me you asshole! I need to tell you something. I have a hunch that you're wrong, I know your 'never wrong,' but just have a weird feeling about this whole thing. I think there's something we're overlooking. Maybe another person or...well I don't really know but just tell John to stop the exor-"

The door to my hospital room opened causing me to look up.

"Oh, what are you doing here?" I asked and quickly closed my phone.

Kinowara-san stood in my doorway and slowly closed the door.

"I came to apologize for what happened to you. It's such a pity such a young girl like yourself had to go through something like that. It must have been quite terrifying," he said softly.

"It's no problem, really. I get hurt in someway during pretty much every case we go on," I laughed embarrassedly.

"What happened exactly? Your team hasn't told me anything, just that you were sent to the hospital," he stated.

"I was getting tea for my boss but the ghost attacked me. I wound up falling onto the tea cup which I had dropped as the attack began and my stomach has been cut up a bit. Other than that I'm fine though. And don't worry, I can take it, I'm pretty strong and won't give up without a good fight," I smiled.

He nodded skeptically at me. "Yes, well I'm glad you are alright."

"Thank you," I smiled again.

The man cleared his throat and a faint blush crept up on the old mans cheeks. "Alright, well...when I first hired Shibuya Psychic Research I thought that...well...ok don't laugh, but since it says 'Psychic' in the title I had thought that your team was a group of psychics with superpowers of some sort. Something like having incredible speed or strength, you know? Maybe have powers that can let you move things with your mind? I guess I've just read one too many comic books in my days and let my imagination run wild. Still it's kind of a let down to know that your just a group of normal people."

I cocked my head slightly to one side. He sounded a little bitter near the end of his confession.

Feeling a little bad for the man, I gave him a slight smile. "You know.." I started, getting his attention. "You weren't too far off. I mean, I actually do have a bit of psychic power."

His eyes widened, and a strange expression crossed his face so quickly I was almost uncertain if it were actually there or not.

"Really?" he asked.

I nodded happily. "Yeah! I have this thing where I can dream of things that have happened in the past at the haunted sights we investigate."

The mans tongue shot out and licked his lips quickly. "My, that's quite impressive!...Are your powers strong?"

I laughed slightly. _Wow,_ _he's really interested in this type of thing_. "My boss says that I show a lot of potential of becoming a great medium one day," I smiled proudly.

"Are you the only one with these types of powers? What about your boss?" he asked quickly.

I froze for a second. I could have sworn I saw a strange glint in his eye. Suddenly I felt as if I shouldn't have said anything to him.

"No. I'm the only one with any psychic power," I lied, still smiling, trying to keep him unsuspicious of me being skeptical about him.

For a split second a frown crossed his face but it was replaced with a large smile once again. "Well. That's very interesting about your powers..very interesting indeed.." he whispered the last part.

I started feeling nervous. What was wrong with the Kinowara from before? He was acting very strangely...kind of creepy actually.

"What has your team found out so far?" he asked suddenly.

"There getting ready to exorcise the ghost in room 227," I said before thinking.

_Shit, why did I tell him? _I clenched my jaw shut and took note of the strange smile that played one the man's lips. That smile..it was more like a crazy grin.

"The ghost of the woman that attacked you right?" he asked pryingly.

"Yeah it was..." I said slowly. _How'd he know the ghost was a woman? I hadn't told him that. This is getting a little scary._

I heard him whisper something under his breath sounding kind of like 'finally.' Clearing his throat, Kinowara-san walked back to the door and smiled. "Right. Well, I must be off. I have to go visit my daughter...I'll see you soon," he grinned slyly.

The door closed with a click and my heart was racing.

_Oh gods, I have a really bad feeling. I-I think I just made a really big mistake in telling him all of that. I need to call Naru!_

* * *

><p>My mobile rang and I looked at the screen. Mai was calling. Once again I ignored the call, putting my phone to silent this time.<p>

I looked up to see John staring up at me from his bible. I raised an eyebrow, "Keep going."

The priest nodded and continued on with the exorcism.

After only a few words in, and the floorboards began to creak. John was about to pause but I gave him a sign to continue.

The lights began to flicker and I heard Ayako gasp to my right.

I followed her gaze.

There she was. The bitch that attacked Mai.

My eyes narrowed as the ghost stared me down. Slowly the woman crept towards me, a snarl on her face.

"Idiot," she hissed. "I won't leave."

"You're dead, insane, and tied to this abandoned asylum. What possible reason do you have to stay here for?" I asked coldly.

The ghost snarled. Her head twitching in random ticks. "Im not insane! I'm not crazy!"

I raised an eyebrow, looking from her face down to her torn straight jacket. "Really? That little _outfit_ you're wearing says otherwise."

She reached up and grabbed her hair, screaming. "I'm not! I wasn't!" She continued to twitch and her apparition flickered between visible and invisible.

I bent down to her level and glared at her now crouching form. "You'll pay for what you've done to Mai," I whispered in a deadly tone.

Suddenly her shaking form ceased all movement. That's when the hideous sick laughter filled the room. My eyes narrowed slightly and I looked at the ghost. _Why is she laughing?_

I quickly stood back up at my full height and looked down at the woman. Slowly her head lifted up to look straight at me.

"Why didn't I notice before?" the ghost laughed. "I think I'll make her.._my_ puppet."

I raised my eyebrow once again. "How? She's in the hospital and you're bound to this asylum. She's safe from you."

The ghost only smirked darkly at me and she was suddenly gone.

I felt my stomach tighten uncomfortably and I had a sinking feeling that I may have just pushed the ghost a little too far.

I pulled out my mobile and flipped it open. There were many missed calls and two voicemails. I ignored them and quickly dialed Mai's number.

She didn't answer.

I growled inwardly and dialed again.

Still no answer.

"Dammit Mai," I swore under my breath.

The missed messages and voicemails caught my eye again. I checked who had called even though I knew who it was. It was Mai.

I went to the voicemail and dialed it.

"_You have -two- new messages. First message_

_- Beep - _

"_Naru. Stop ignoring me you asshole! I need to tell you something. I have a hunch that you're wrong, I know your 'never wrong,' but just have a weird feeling about this whole thing. I think there's something we're overlooking. Maybe another person or...well I don't really know but just tell John to stop the exor-...oh, what are you doing here?"_

_End of first message - _

_To listen t- beeep - _

_Message saved - _

_Next message -_

_Naru! You jerk! Answer your stupid phone! It's important! You better not have put your phone to silent or I swear I'm gonna- ugh never mind that right now! I really need to talk to you! Don't go through with the exorcism you idiot scientist! I don't think this ghost is the problem..well yeah she's a problem, I mean look what she did to me but- dammit I'm getting off track again! Ok! I don't think she's the main problem! Now listen up! I just talked to- (gasp) -_

_- Hello Mai -"_

_End of messa-_

I snapped my phone closed. My eyes had grown harder than usual as the message had played.

That voice! It was that bitch of a ghost!

"Naru?" Bou-san queried softly.

"How the hell did she get to the hospital?" I snapped and spun to face the door. I looked over at Lin. "The ghost is with Mai. I don't know how the hell she did it but she's there. Get the car started, _now_."

Lin nodded and ran out of the room. I fumed, following my friend to the car right on his heels with Bou-san, Ayako, and John close behind.

_What was Mai trying to tell me? Dammit! Why did I act so childish? Why didn't I just answer her call earlier?_

I quickly got in the car and clenched my fist in self-disgust.

_I swear, if that ghost did anything to her...I'm going to take her out personally.._

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it!<strong>


	8. It

**Here's chapter 8! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>November 1<p>

5:20 PM

Lin had only just started the car when a familiar blue Honda drove up the driveway. Kinowara-san parked and got out of the car as did we.

"Kinowara-san. What are you doing here? I thought you had gone to work," I stated.

He rubbed the back of his head and laughed slightly. "...Well I had been but I..I forgot something here! Yeah! So, where are all of you going? Have you solved the case and exorcised the ghost?" he asked quickly.

"No," I said cooly.

I saw a flash of annoyance cross his face at my short remark. "Well, mind telling me where you're off to?"

I was about to shoot back a cold refusal but Ayako elbowed me in the ribs. I shot her a glare but she ignored it and spoke up. "We're going to see our colleague in the hospital. Something's come up. We're in a hurry though so if you don't min-"

"I'll come with you!" the elder man piped in before the miko could finish and he got back into his car.

I raised an eyebrow at the man but nonetheless entered our car again and Lin took off down the driveway, with Kinowara-san following right behind us.

"So Naru-bou what did Mai's message say?" Bou-san spoke up after a few minutes of tense silence.

I clenched my jaw, not wanting to explain. I had acted like a child, a stupid idiotic child. I should have answered my phone when Mai called...although it would take hell freezing over for me to say that out loud.

"She objected to the exorcism and also said someone had come to visit her, someone whom gave her an unpleasant feeling. She was cut off before she could tell me who this person was however. I'll check with the hospital's receptionist to see who it was that visited her..." I paused and then continued in a lower voice. "There's one thing I am positive of, and Yuuki's ghost was in Mai's room with her." My tone was deadly, causing the others to shut up.

The next few minutes of the car ride were more tense than before, but finally the hospital had come into view and I could make out the sound of Ayako and the monk sighing in relief at the sight of it. I rolled my eyes at the two. We pulled up and I quickly yet swiftly got out of the car and strolled into the hospital, not waiting for any of the others.

I walked up to the receptionist. "Kazuya Shibuya. I'm here to see Taniyama Mai."

The man looked looked down and flipped through a few papers and wrote something down before nodding. "Yup. Go on in. You know the room number right?"

"Yes," I nodded and started walking off.

I hurried up to her room and paused outside her door. It was quite.

A strange unsettling feeling shot through my stomach for a split second. I grabbed the doorknob and quickly pushed the door open.

My eyes narrowed slightly.

Mai was standing in front of the window, facing me. There was a wide devious smirk running across her lips, and every so often her hands twitched. That wasn't Mai. It was Yuuki.

I stared dangerously at the possessed girl. "Wantabe-san, I presume?"

She laughed unsettlingly cheerful. "Bingo _'Naru-chan_.' Ahh, you have no idea what it's like to have a body again," she chimed, twitching and cracking her neck in a stretch.

My eyes lowered to Mai's abdomen and I growled. Fresh blood was staining her hospital gown. I glared at the ghost possessing my assistant's body. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut your possession short, Wantabe-san. You aren't taking very good care of my assistant," I said viciously in a low tone.

"She'll live," She waved it off. "And anyway...Your words are big but I know you wont have the guts to go through with them..._I_ saw what you were thiiiiinking, _I_ know your seeecrettt," she sang eerily. She smiled and started walking towards me. I could hear Lin and the others running down the hall.

"What was it that you saw?" I asked quickly, and shut the door behind me.

"Naru!" Lin called on the other side, banging on the door.

"Just a moment Lin. I'm fine."

I knew Lin was upset but I was the boss, I called the shots.

I continued staring Mai...no, Yuuki, in the eyes.

In a quieter voice I asked again. "What was it, Wantabe-san? What did you see?"

She smiled and took a step towards me. "This girl...you care for her more than you do the others. I saw your thoughts. I know. And that can only mean one thing. You lov-"

"'Love' is a stupid idea and only the dimwitted believe in it," I scoffed. My jaw clenched uncontrollably as I spoke however; my body's opposition to my statement.

Yuuki laughed again. "You're funny." Her laughter then stopped dead and she stared me straight in the eye. "If you try to remove me from this body it will no doubt cause lasting damage to your little girlfriend's mind. You could even say that she'll go _crazy_ without me." She waved a dramatic hand up to her forehead and then started walking towards me.

My eyes narrowed even further. I wanted nothing more than this dead bitch to let go of Mai. If she did anything to her...

She suddenly ceased her movements. Her eyes widened and she looked frightened. Her hands shakily reached up and clawed at her face and tried to block her ears.

"No...no...I'm not...I wasn't!" She cried and jumped backwards into the corner of the room reaching out and clawing at invisible beings. "Everyone's trying. Everyone's trying to kill me...no...voices...voices..get out of my head!"

I watched her curiously. Paranoia was not uncommon with the mentally insane.

I opened up the door and Lin barged in followed by the others. I could hear them gasp as they saw Mai.

"What's happening to Taniyama-san?" Kinowara-san's voice reached my ears. I turned to him, mentally telling him to shut the hell up.

I sighed and looked back at Mai cowering in the corner. She was looking around with an expression of fear and anger etched onto her face.

"That voice..." she started and shook her head viciously, beating her fisted hands against her ears with all her strength.

My jaw clenched, seeing Mai doing this to herself. Granted she was possessed, but still, the sight of the always happy Mai acting in such ways...it's something I hoped never to see again.

"That voice," she hissed and stopped beating herself. "It's..._It's_ here!" She looked around wildly, searching for the owner of the so-called voice.

I heard footsteps running away from the room. Ayako had left. I could see everyone else at the doorway aside from Lin and Kinowara-san step back a bit in shock at the deadly look in Mai's eyes.

I eyed Kinowara-san suspiciously. There was a glint in his eye for a split second that caught my attention. Slowly I turned back to the aloof Yuuki.

Her gaze had landed back on me. "You...you took it here didn't you? The one who did this to me?...How could you do this to the one you care for most? Don't you know what it'll do? I wasn't always crazy! It did this to me and it's here! I can't see it but I know..._I know_. I know what it want's. It's going to do to her what it did to me!"

My hands fisted. "I won't-"

"-You won't let anything happen too your poor Mai?...Well you've obviously done _such_ a great job at that so far haven't you," she cut me off, getting on my last nerve.

"Why did you attack her at the asylum?"I asked lowly.

"..." She stared at me with an empty gaze.

"_I'm the one who's going to get rid of it. It did this to me, I'm not going to let someone else get rid of it for me." _

My eyes widened. Yuuki's voice had been in my head, she hadn't physically said anything but yet I still heard her.

She nodded, with a twitching smile.

"_I wasn't always like this either. I didn't want her to go through what I went through. It'd be going after her pow-."_

Her eyes suddenly shut closed again and she screamed in agony, crumpling to the ground. My knuckles turned white at the force I was clenching them with. Bou-san ran towards the fallen girl but I shot my hand out to stop him.

"What the hell Naru! Let me by! She's being hurt by something!" the monk screamed at me.

I shook my head. "I can't risk any other of my employees getting hurt. Yuuki may retaliate if you get too close."

"Ahh! My head! Make it stop! Make it stop!" Mai..Yuuki cried out in pain, clutching her head.

Suddenly, a blur of purple ran by us and before I could stop her, Ayako crouched down next to Mai's writhing body.

"Ayako!" Bou-san called to his fiancee.

She held a needle in hand and squeezed it, making the liquid squirt any air bubbles in the syringe escape through the tip of the needle. Quickly she rolled up one of Mai's sleeves, avoiding the girl's thrashing about.

The miko stuck the needle in with ease and almost instantly Mai's movements started slowing until they ceased all together.

I watched as the monk and miko lifted the girl up onto the hospital bed and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked over to see Lin staring at me.

"She's asleep now," Ayako sighed Behind me.

"Naru..." Lin began.

"Keep watch over them. I'll be right back, I have to check something," I said briskly and strolled out the door, closing it sharply behind me.

Things seemed to be getting more troublesome.

The ghost attacked Mai, left the boundaries of the asylum, went to the hospital, and then possessed Mai.

But what wasn't the main thing; what was it that Yuuki was trying to find?_ 'It?'_ What was _'it?' _She was about to say it was going after Mai's power but what...?

"Ugh," I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. My head hurt from all of this. I was getting too worked up. If this case hadn't all the sudden become so personal...if that ghost hadn't attacked and possessed Mai then I knew I'd be able to figure out what was happening here. The answer was right out of my reach and I knew I'd kick myself once I figured it out because it was so simple yet I wasn't concentrating.

I looked up again and saw I had reached the reception desk.

"Oh, it's you from earlier. Is there something I can help you with?" the receptionist asked, looking up at me.

I nodded. "I was wondering if you know who came not too long ago to visit Taniyama-san."

"Let me check," the man said and flipped through the papers before him again. His eyes widened and then his brow furrowed. "Strange..." he muttered.

I raised an eyebrow at the mans reaction. "What?"

The man shook his head in confusion. "Well, I remember someone coming in...And I remember writing down a name, I'm sure I did, but..."

"Well? What's wrong with it?" I asked, starting to get annoyed.

He showed me the paper and my gaze fell onto a scribble.

"What's that?" I asked.

"That's just the thing. I'm sure that's the slot I wrote the person's name in. But...it's not even writing, it's just a bunch of scribbles," the man said.

"Do you remember what this person looked like?" I asked, starting to get annoyed.

"Yeah he...or was it a she?..Oh gods...the more I try to remember, the more I can't. What is this? I...Hold on let me check the security camera. _What the hell did the person look like?_" the man muttered in annoyed confusion. It seemed he was as irritated with his lack of memory as I was.

He turned to his computer and rewound the video to the time around where the visitor must have come in.

He gasped at the screen and my eyes narrowed and what I saw. A shadow of a person was seen on its way into the screen but before the owner of the shadow could be caught on film the screen went blank. Static filled the screen for about a minute and then it returned to normal. No one was there except the receptionist putting his check-in list away.

...Whatever we were dealing with was very powerful in order to control the mind of the receptionist and the camera screen.

Now one main question rang through my head.

What was this thing we were faced with?

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><p><strong>Confusing? It will all become clear soon I promise!<strong>


	9. The Real Call

**R&R & ENJOY OF COURSE!**

**and YES! i did write and post this story about a year to a year and a half ago. **

**I never finished it and i hadnt come on fanfiction for about a year. **

**i just started coming back onto this website and i figured i should delete, revise, and repost the story again.**

**so yes, if you think you have read this story before it is most likely because you have haha **

**this is the revised and soon-to-be-completed version of my original Mad Hatter story lol**

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><p>This thing we were going up against wasn't any normal ghost...in fact I believed it wasn't a ghost at all. I just didn't have the right evidence yet. However, something in my gut told me that I had most of the clues I needed but I was just unable to piece them all together yet. It was killing me that I had no idea what was happening. I was Oliver Davis, I was supposed to know everything.<p>

I growled in self-disgust and turned away from the receptionist as he was off in his own world clutching at his head trying to remember anything at all about the person that came to visit Mai earlier that day.

I took a step but froze when I saw Kinowara-san staring at me from the end of the long hall. I could just barely make out a grin on his face and then he started walking towards me.

What was that man up to?

Suddenly my mobile rang and I quickly answered it.

"Hello?" I asked coldly to the person on the other end of the line as I kept an ever watchful eye on the older man walking towards me.

"_Naru! Thank god! I've been trying to get in touch with you forever. None of you have picked your phones up once since you all left for the case,_" a familiar voice answered me.

My eyebrows knitted together. "Yasuhara? What are you talking about I called you last afternoon. You told the information on Wantabe-san," I replied.

Kinowara-san froze in his walk towards me when I said Yasuhara's name and his grin fell into a scowl. My eyes grew in suspicion.

"_What? No! This is the first time I've been able to get in touch with you,_" he said in shock.

My eyes narrowed even more as Yasuhara spoke. If it wasn't Yasuhara on the phone yesterday then who-

"_And Naru, you have to hear this. For the past few days I've been trying to find anything, anything, on this 'Kinowara-san' but there's nothing! Nothing at all! It's as if he doesn't even exist. You guys really need to be careful. There was a team of psychic researchers who visited the asylum around twenty years ago and pretty much the whole team went missing and were never found._"

"What?" I growled, staring straight into Kinowara-san's eyes. "Wait...You said 'pretty much the whole team.'"

"_Yeah. The sole remainder of the team had been found by a hiker in the woods nearby. The man was bleeding at the eyes and was later put into another insane asylum because he had gone crazy. He kept talking about 'the doctor with black eyes' and how it was eating them but not in any physical way. I'm actually at the asylum he's being held in. He's still alive so I'm going to try to see if I can talk to him. Naru, This definitely isn't a ghost you guys are facing. Be careful. By the way, where are you guys now? Still at the asylum?_"

"No. The hospital," I couldn't keep the venom out of my voice as Kinowara-san and myself had a stare-off.

"_The hospital? Who-_" Yasuhara began but I quickly cut him off.

"Mai," I said and snapped my phone shut.

"Kinowara-san," I spat.

The man looked amused. He slowly shot his gaze towards the receptionist. I heard a gasp from the receptionist as he collapsed on his desk, unconscious. The rest of the hallways was unoccupied and dead silent.

"It was you who called me yesterday, pretending to be Yasuhara, wasn't it?" I asked the man in front of me.

"Bingo," Kinowara smirked, fixing his gaze back on to me. "Sooo...Now you know. I figured if I pretended to be him and gave you that information about my most prized patient, our dear Yuuki, then you'd get rid of her first. She's being quite the pain in the ass, trying to stop me and all. Ha, but I guess I knew I wouldn't be able to keep that know-it-all kid from getting in touch with you for long, yet I had hoped it would have been after I got what I needed from your little psychic girlfriend. From what she told me earlier today, her powers are quite amazing," he said as he licked his lips as if the thought was delicious. "Pity the rest of your group doesn't possess any psychic power huh? I would have like to have more."

I looked at him with a bit of confusion. Did he not know we were all psychics? Why did he think Mai was the only one? I shook my head slightly and fixed my glare back on the man before me.

"What were you thinking of doing to her? The same thing you did to that other group of psychic researchers and your patients?" I growled.

"What am I going to do? ...You'll soon find out...That is, if I decide to keep her corpse intact. You know, just for you, I may just chop her up into little bits after I'm done getting all I need from her, and I'll mail her remains to you bit...by...bit." he said in a sickening voice.

"You'll do no. such. thing." I spat and walked towards the man.

Kinowara's eyes shut and reopened to show that they were completely black.

"Watch me," he whispered and disappeared. I froze and I heard another gasp from behind me. The receptionist had regained consciousness and was gasping for breath.

Not seconds later I heard a loud ear shattering scream from a couple of floors up.

My eyes widened. That was Ayako.

That thing was in Mai's room.

I ran as fast as I could. When I reached the elevator I was nearly pressed the 'up' button when I heard the elevator lift snap and come crashing to the bottom floor. I jumped back as dust shot out of the cracks of the elevator's closed doors.

Shit! That bastard was delaying me.

Without hesitation I ran to the stairs and took two flights up to Mai's floor.

I barged out of the stairway and looked down the hall. The whole team was banging on Mai's door trying to get in.

"Naru!" Lin shouted. "Something just suddenly appeared and locked us out of the room."

"It has Mai!" Ayako yelled in rage and kept kicking at the door.

I pushed my way through them and looked through the small window on the door. Mai was gone, along with _him._

I slowly reached down and turned the doorknob. It had been locked but the second I touched it the lock clicked open. I pushed the door open wide and wind from the open window hit me and the crew.

I could faintly hear a voice in my head. "_Oh my pretty little puppet, you're life I may just pluck it._"

My lips formed into a snarl. "Kinowara," I said in hatred.

"What? Kinowara-san was the one who did this?" Bou-san said in shock.

"Yes," I replied. "He was the one who came to visit Mai this morning. And he isn't a man..."

Lin shot a look at me and I nodded, finishing my sentence. "...Kinowara is a demon."

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><p><strong>ARE YOU SHOCKED? I tried to make it unpredictable. I hope I was at least able to shock a few of you hahaha! :D<strong>


	10. Missing

**Sorry about this chapter! It's so intensely full of info! **

**I hope you enjoy! and there's still more to come!**

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><p>I still stood in front of Mai's doorway, glaring at the open window across the abandoned room.<p>

"A demon?" John asked in shock.

"What? How the hell can this be? Why was Mai possessed? And what does this demon want with Mai?" Bou-san roared and charged into Mai's room spinning around as if hoping the demon were still there but merely hiding.

"I believe I know everything now," I stated and walked into her room as well. The others came in and sat down anxiously. "I think Yuuki has possessed Mai because she wishes us to leave this alone so she can get rid of the demon herself. She possessed Mai because she knew that if she threatened us with Mai's sanity and health then we would give up."

I cleared my throat.

"Yuuki was a telepathist. When she was here and possessing Mai, she was reading my thoughts and talking to me in my mind. I'm sure that's why Kinowara took her power. Telepathy is quite rare..." I took a breath and I could feel my eyes harden.

"As for that _thing _that went by the name Kinowara-san; yes, it is a demon and a powerful one at that. Apart from the obvious that his eyes are black _and_ that he can appear and disappear in a split second, he is able to manipulate a persons thoughts and memories, and can also malfunction any electronic device he want's. The receptionist downstairs cannot remember a thing about the man who came to visit Mai this morning and when he showed me the footage on the security camera, everything went blank until the person was out of the screens range. That person that visited Mai was Kinowara-san," I paused looking around seeing if everyone was following.

Lin spoke up. "Yes that makes sense. I just noticed that was the reason Yuuki was unable to see the demon earlier when she heard his voice. Kinowara manipulated Mai's.._Yuuki's,_ mind so that she wouldn't be able to point him out to us as the one who did that to her and he could keep his disguise a little while longer until he was able to get to Mai."

I nodded.

Lin grabbed a bag from beside Mai's bed and took out his laptop.

"Yes, yes, but _why_ did this thing take Mai?" Bou-san said in annoyance.

"I believe I know the answer to that as well," I started, causing the others to lean forward on the edge of their seats. "When I was down checking the video footage from the receptionist, I ran into Kinowara-san. He had said that when he came to visit Mai earlier today she had told him about her having psychic powers. The look in his eye when he told me this gives me the unsettling feeling that he's going to try to take Mai's powers from her," I ground out the last part through clenched teeth.

"How is he going to do that?" Ayako asked weakly. Bou-san was rubbing her back soothingly but still had a look of pure hatred on his face as he looked out the window.

I shook my head. "That is one thing I am not sure of as of yet."

It was quite for a second save for the noise on Lin's fingers taping on the keyboard of his laptop.

I cleared my throat once again. "However, I know that Kinowara must have been in that asylum for quite a long time. In older days, people were sent off to asylums if they had any power even if they weren't mentally ill, because they were different. Even if they acted completely sane, the doctors and nurses still believed you were insane. Kinowara must have hid out in the asylum and experimented on the psychic patients and found how to take their powers somehow. And after all of his experiments the patients were most likely truly insane and none of the doctors or nurses would have been able to tell the difference...

"Hmmm...Now that I think about it, Kinowara must have hired us for two reasons. One, so he could get us to exorcise the ghosts of his patients he experimented on since they seemed to be trying to tell people about him, for instance with the writings on the walls. And then two, so if there were a possibility that any of us were psychic he could take our powers after we did our job," I finished. "Even if we didn't have powers then at least we'd be getting rid of his ghost problem."

"That makes sense...but why did he only take Mai? Why not any of us as well?" John asked.

I nodded, "I have a feeling that when Kinowara came to visit Mai and she told him about her power. Her intuition must have told her that she shouldn't have told him anything. Thus, I believe that she protected us by saying that she was the only one with any power."

I looked up at them and the monk and miko were looking up at me incredulously.

"What?" I asked in a deadpan tone, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

They both sweat-dropped. "You really are a genius to figure that all out just by a few clues," they both stated in unison.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I'm a genius. Obviously I don't only have just good looks: there needs to be a brain to match."

This time it was them who rolled their eyes. "Such a narcissist," I heard them mutter.

"Uhm...Naru?" John asked.

I looked over at the blonde priest.

"Well, not to be rude, but I was just wondering what we're doing _here_ instead of going back to the asylum. I bet that's where the demon went back to."

I nodded slowly and tiredly. "I understand. And yes that is where he went. I'm eager to get going as well and save Mai as soon as possible but it will do us no good if we're not prepared." I nodded my head towards Lin. "Lin has been looking for the seals and equipment we'll need as we've been talking."

After I said that Lin took out a notepad and started drawing the seal and the incantations for the exorcism.

Within a few seconds he was finished and stood quickly, turning to me. "I've written them out just in case when we go to the asylum Kinowara malfunctions my computer."

I stood as well, the others following after me. "Very good. Now let's be off. You have the necessary equipment in the van right?" I asked the Chinese man.

"Yes, it's still there."

Bou-san walked up to me. "Why don't we just burn down the asylum like we did in the last demon case?"

I shook my head at him. "This demon is more powerful than any I have come across. It is able to leave the asylum. Other demons I've come across have been unable to leave their bound locations. Since this demon is much more powerful, probably since it has taken so many people's powers, it is able to leave it's original location but will still gravitate towards there. We're going to need to exorcise it and then burn the asylum but we're also going to need some other equipment."

Lin nodded. "Yes, rock salt is able to burn a demon and iron is able to bind them. I've also devised a plan for once we reach the asylum. We're going split up into teams. One team, John, Ayako, and I, will be writing the seal and preparing for the exorcism while Naru and Takigawa-san, you two will try to find where the demon has Mai and wait for him to be lured out by us, then you will go rescue her hopefully before it is too late."

"We'll make it in time, Lin," I said firmly.

He looked at me softly and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Yes. Of course we will. Mai is a very strong individual, I'm sure she'll put up one hell of a fight."

We were about to walk out the door when Bou-san suddenly stooped short. "Whoa! I just noticed! Lin made the plans! _Not_ Naru!" he said in shock.

Ayako gasped in shock as well. "You're so right Bou-san, honey! Since when has anything like that happened?"

Lin and I shook our heads at the two as John chuckled softly. "Lin is more talented in the area of demons more so than I am, believe it or not," I stated flatly.

The two idiots looked at each other with twinkles in their eyes. "We definitely can't let anything happen to Mai!" Bou-san started and Ayako finished for him, "Yes! We need to tell her that Naru isn't the best in something! It will excite her so much!"

Rolling my eyes once more, I started walking out the door.

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><p><strong>Thank you all for following my story, i hope you like it. its almost done!<strong>


	11. The Past

This feeling. I hate this feeling. I'm possessed, aren't I? Geez, of course this would happen. I couldn't move my body and I could barely see what was happening around me. I could barely hear what was being said around me too. It's as if I'm underwater, just barely able to take it what's going on. Good gods I hate this feeling.

From what I could comprehend, Yuuki possessed my body. However, right after that, Kinowara appeared in my hospital room with a horrible grin and black bottomless eyes. Kinowara was a demon! Now we were in an unfamiliar room. A chair with leather straps stood in the middle of the room. An old metal table stood next to it. What was on the table was what scared me. There was an old, rusty ice pick and a handful of red stained rags.

'What happened here?' I thought to myself. I was terrified of what the history behind this room must be.

Suddenly, my mind started clouding even more. Blurred visions of past memories within this asylum started filling my head.

Eventually my mind cleared and my vision focused. My eyes widened at what I saw before me.

Kinowara-san stood outside the asylum with an arm wrapped around a beautiful woman. He had a smile on which was as bright as the sun.

'He looks so human,' I thought.

"That's because he is human. At least he used to be human," a familiar voice said behind me.

I spun around to look at the speaker.

"Kinowara-san!" I gasped in freight.

The man shook his head. "I'm not the Kinowara-san you're thinking of….I'm his twin brother."

I gasped again, "What?"

"His name was Shinji, but our surname isn't really 'Kinowara'," he started. "Our last name is Wantabe."

"What? Isn't that Yuuki's last name?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes. The three of us are, or were related. Yuuki was our cousin," he said sadly.

"But….why would your brother have killed your cousin?" I yelled in confusion.

"That..that is a long story. But that is why I decided to come to you. I want to show you what has happened here."

He looked over to where his brother and the beautiful woman stood and took a deep breath.

"That woman, Kana, is the reason my brother is so twisted. Kana and Shinji were engaged. My brother loved her with all his heart…but she…she felt differently. She wanted my brother for one thing, and one thing only…" he trailed off.

I tilted my head, with one brow raised. "What was is?"

"Shinji and Kana both had paranormal and psychic abilities. My brother had just found out that he could somewhat control peoples thoughts with his mind. News got out and then _she_ arrived."

I could tell from Shinji's brothers voice that this Kana woman was no-good.

"She played with his heart in order to get close to him. She wanted his power. She just didn't know how to get it from him. She knew there were some horrible ways of going about it…lobotomy being the worst way of doing it. But she didn't want to get her hands dirty in such a way. Instead, on my brother's birthday, Kana gave my brother a hat."

I had to hold back a small chuckle. "So? A hat couldn't have been such a terrible present, could it?"

The man turned to me with serious eyes. "Back in those days, certain hats were coated with mercury in order to keep their shape. Even after a few years of just wearing normal hat with just a bit of mercury would start to affect a person's sanity."

The look I shot him clearly stated my thoughts. 'Yeah. Riiiiight."

The man narrowed his eyes and continued. "Mercury is not good for a person. You know of the story Alice in Wonderland, am I correct?"

I nodded.

"The mad hatter character was inspired by true events. Because of the mercury in the hats people started going crazy and these people were known as 'mad hatters.' Before the worldwide knowledge of the damage mercury could do, Kana knew. She was very a intelligent scientist. She gave my brother the hat. But the hat she gave him was loaded with mercury. The amount of mercury caused my brothers insanity to develop within just weeks. Kana was preparing to take my brothers powers. She wanted him insane so everyone in the ward would think she was looking after him, but in reality she was slowly draining away his powers."

My eyes widened. To have the woman you love poison you like that so she could take your powers…it was so sad.

"My brother retaliated one day and beat her, forcing her to tell him what she was doing. She told him about how she was trying to get his power and strength from him. He became obsessed with the idea of gaining more power. He told her he would let her take his powers the following night if they met up in room number 400."

"Wait!" I cut him off. "There is no room 400, there are only 399 rooms in this asylum!"

"There are 399 rooms you know off. But there are 400 rooms."

I gasped. "Is…is room 400 where Shinji took people's powers?"

"I'm getting to that, just listen."

I nodded and listened closely.

"Kana believed Shinji was allowing her to gather his powers. She arrived at the time they agreed upon. The second she entered that room was the second she sealed her own fate. My brother was there waiting. He was completely insane. He snuck up behind her and chloroformed her. When she came to, she was strapped down to the chair in the middle of the room. My brother…lobotomized her with the ice pick. He took her power. After that he started to go power-hungry. He began to gas light villagers with psychic abilities. Gas lighting is when you make a person believe they are crazy. Once they were emitted, then he would take them to the 400th room.

"When our cousin was emitted into the asylum for being able to see the deceased, my brother lost all morals. He didn't recognize family, he only saw her as a power source. He tried to gas light her but because she could see the spirits of the people he had lobotomized she didn't believe him and tried to escape. Eventually, he was able to get her into the 400th room…the rest is history."

I felt a tear roll down my cheek. To have your own kin do that to you…my brows furrowed together…"Wait a second.."

The man tilted his head, waiting for me to continue.

"You're a ghost too and are still here at this asylum…does that mean…"

The man nodded. "I told you…as long as a person had psychic ability, my brother didn't care if they were kin or not. I was a victim of room 400 as well."

I started to shake at the thought of being lobotomized with the rusty pick, with no anesthesia, at the hand of my own kin. My eyes widened as a thought struck me.

"That room….room 400…the one where he l-lobotomizes people….that's where your brother has taken me isn't it?...He's going to…lobotomize me and take my power?" I stuttered.

The man looked at me sadly. "Can you not feel your body?"

I closed my eyes and could feel something constricting me in the real world.

"You're already tied down in that chair. He already has the ice pick in his hand."


End file.
